Post hole digger and wire winder therefor



Dec. 6, 1955 G. H. JONES 2,726,050

POST HOLE DIGGER AND WIRE WINDER THEREFOR Filed June 15, 1953 2,726,050 Patented Dec. 6, 1955 POST HOLE DIGGER AND WIRE WINDER THEREFOR Glen H. Jones, Indianola, Iowa Application June 15, 1953, Serial No. 361,496

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-77) The present invention relates to a post hole digger having a wire winder incorporated therein and to the winder and is more particularly concerned with a device wherein coils of wire may be easily inserted or removed and the post hole digger used to wind and unwind wire.

It is a primary object of my invention to provide a post hole digger to wind wire said digger including a structure capable of receiving a reel suitable for holding a coil of wire, the reel being so mounted that the power of the digger may be utilized to roll wire or the movement of the tractor to unroll wire.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a wire winding device in which the reel structure may be quickly assembled and disassembled. A digger constructed according to my invention will incorporate as a part thereof a movable head member which usually carries the auger. A portion of the reel will be adapted to supplant the auger. movable head will permit the reel to be separated, thus enabling a coil of wire to be removed from the reel and another coil inserted with little manual effort.

In operating a device of the type described one of the difliculties encountered in handling the wire coiled under tension is the fact that it has a tendency to uncoil and expand when tension is relieved. It is however desirable to reuse the coils of wire, such as might be taken from an old fence line, and to restring them using the wire winder.

It is therefore still another object of my invention to provide a reel in which the core is adjustable. In this Way wire may be coiled on a large core and then removed. The core may then be adjusted to a smaller dimension and the expanded coiled wire reinserted in the reel thereby overcoming the difiiculties encountered by reason of expansion of the wire which has caused contraction of the core area.

Another problem encountered in a wire winding device is that of guiding the wire onto, the reel as it is rolled into position. Any common guide device would not accommodate such special wires as the barbed type without damaging the wire itself. It is therefore a still further object of my invention to provide a guide member which will maintain wire tension to prevent backlash and yet will not hold the wire in such a manner as to jerk or kink it.

Other and further features and objects of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying drawings and following specifications, wherein is disclosed a single exemplary embodiment of the invention, with the understanding, however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of a post hole digger constructed according to my invention and having a wire winding device mounted thereon. The reel is shown with a coil of barbed wire in position.

In this manner the elevation of the Figure 2 is a view in cross section of the wire winding reel showing the construction whereby the upper and lower plates may be separated to permit the removal of a roll of wire.

Figure 3 is an exploded view in perspective of the tension means whereby the wire is guided onto the reel and prevented from backlashing, and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of one of the end plates to show the position of the two sets of holes whereby an.

adjustable core is provided.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1, I have shown a post hole digger constructed according to one embodiment of my invention. The digger there shown has a U-frame 11 in which a powered head 12 isvertically slidably mounted. Such a digger may be mounted on a tractor or other vehicle (not shown) and driven by the power take-off of the vehicle through tumbling rod 13.

The power head, which is a right angle drive with suitable gearing to accomplish a speed reduction and power increase, is provided with a spindle 14. This spindle may be used either for an anger or for the wire winding device herein described. Above the spindle and on the same shaft is a cable drum 37 which serves to wrap a cable 38 which is in turn led to the top of the U-frame 11 and back to the power head 12 where it is fastened.

Disposed between the spindle and the cable drum is a clutch member 36. This clutch may be reciprocated manually to alternately engage the spindle 14 or the cable drum 37. Since the wire winding device is adapted to mount on the spindle it will be seen. that shifting the clutch into engagement with the spindle will cause the Wire winder to revolve. However if the clutch is shifted into engagement with the cable drum the entire power head including the spindle will be drawn in an upward direction.

Referring now to Figure 2 and the wire winderreel shown therein it will be seen that I have provided a pair of end plates, such as upper, plate 15' and lower plate 16, which are mounted on the center shaft17. The manner of the mounting of these plates is of some importance. The upper plate 15 is welded to the shaft 17 and has a collar 19 welded to its upper face and in line with the shaft. Of course the collar 19 is adapted to receive the spindle 14.

The lower plate 16 is provided with a collar and set screw assembly 18 which receives the shaft 17. The shaft extends through the collar 18 and into bearing 21 which is in turn mounted in the support member 20. The sup-,

port member is rigidly fixed to the lower portion of the main U-frame.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the elevation of the power head will permit. the wire winding reel to be lifted out of the bearing in the support member. If the set screw in the collar 18 is loosened the lower plate 16 and any coil of wire resting on it will remain in position while only the upper shaft and the plate 15 need be withdrawn. The coil of wire may then be removed from the lower plate.

Of course it would not be practical to coil wire around the comparatively small diameter of the shaft 17. To secure a larger core area and one which may be adjustable for reasons hereinafter set forth I have provided a plurality of rods such as 22 and 23 which may be inserted through the end plates parallel to the main shaft.

Referring to Figure 4, which is a top plan view of the upper plate 15, it will be seen that there are four rods, 22, 23, 26 and 27 positioned in four corresponding holes. An additional set of holes such as 24 and 25 are also provided, these holes being at a greater radial distance from the collar 19 than the first set of holes. Of course the lower plate carries an identical pattern of openings such as are found in the upper plate.

From the foregoing description the nature of the as sociation of these rods and the two sets of holes will be apparent. When wire is to be coiled on the reel the core rods will be positioned in the outer set of holes thus forming a core of a predetermined size. When the wire is removed in coil form it will tend to expand both inwardly and outwardly, resulting in a smaller cross sec" tional core area. When it is necessary to place the expanded coil back on the reel the rods will be moved to the inner set of holes, thus accommodating the smaller core area.

To guide the wire and hold it under tension as it goes on the reel I have provided a guide assembly 31 such as is shown in Figures 1 and 3. To hold the guide assembly in position a pair of rods 28 and 29 are fastened to the support bracket 20 and positioned at a distance from the reel. The upper ends of these rods are held in place by a bracket 30 which in turn is mounted on the spindle 14 in a freely rotatable manner. Positioned on the outer end of the bracket 30 are slidable fittings which engage the rods. In this way the bracket will freely disengage the red when the power head is raised.

The guide assembly is comprised of a pair of lip-like castings 32 and 33 which are adapted to slidably engage the vertical rods 28 and 29. The two castings are held together by a pair of springs 34 and 35. It will be noted that the lip-like castings are of considerable size in com.- parison to the wire that will flow through them and that the lips in particular are of substantial area. The lip-like shape and the size prevent the wire from being caught or kinked as it passes through the guide assembly. The position of the guide assembly on the rods 28 and 29 and in relation to the reel is controlled by the operator through a rope 39 which is attached to the lower casting 33.

From the foregoing description of the post hole digger and the wire winder attachment the operation of the device will be readily apparent. After the operator has set his fence poles using the digger he need only remove the auger and install the wire winder. He can then position standard commercial coils on the lower plate of the wire reel and lower the upper plate and core rods into position and lock them with the collar and set screw. Once he has done this he simply anchors his wire on the first post and drives down the fence 'line with the wire unrol'ling behind him. Should he wish to stretch wire he need only lock the reel by engaging the clutch, since the digger head is not powered during such ,an operation.

Should the operator Want to use the device to coil wire he will first place the core rods in the outer set of holes in the reel plates. He then engages the reel with the clutch and rolls the wire into a coil. To remove the coil from the reel he loosens the lower plate, engages the cable drum through the .clu-tchto'lift the spindle and head and then lifts the :upper portion of the reel oif of the base. To re-use the wire coil thus formed the operator moves the core rods to the inner set of holes and lowers the power head and reel top into position.

Although I have described a specific embodiment of my invention it will be understood that modifications of the herein described post hole .digger and wire winding device may be made without departing from the spirit and scope vof the present invention as set forth in the append d cla m I cla m as my nvent on:

1. In .adevice ofthe type described, a post hale digger having a U-frame and a power head slidably mounted therein, a wire winding reel mounted to engage said power head, socket means for holding the lower portion of said reel, said means being attached to said U-framc, said reel comprising a shaft, a pair of opposed plates, the lowermost of said plates being slideably mounted on and detachable from said shaft, a set of holes in said plates radially disposed from the center thereof, a second set of es ispo ed at g ea er rad al d anc than the first set of holes, a plurality of rods adapted to be positioned in said holes selectively to form different sized core areas, guide means adapted 'to feed wire on to said reel and ble m ans is? ra sin an to erin a d powe head whereby said proposed plates may be separated at will to permit the removal of coiled wire.

2. In a post hole digger, a U-frame, a reel supported in said frame, said reel comprising a pair of plates mounted on :1 central shaft, the lower of said plates being detachable and having locking means therewith; two sets of holes in said plates, one of said sets of holes being disposed at a greater radial distance from the central shaft than the other set of holes, a plurality of rods adapted to be mounted in said holes to form an adjustable core for said reel, a bracket positioned on said U-frarne and adapted t9 receive one'end of said central shaft and powered means for turning said shaft, said power means being further adapted to lift said upper plate and shaft to cause the separation of said reeL'Whereby wire or the like may be removed therefrom.

3. In a post hole digger, a l J-frame, a reel rotatably mounted in said frame, bearing means mounted on said frame and adapted to support one end of said reel, said reel comprising a central shaft having a plate fixedly mountedthere on and a second opposed plate slidabl-y mounted on said shaft, a plurality of rods radially disposed from said shaft extending through said plates and adapted to be adjustably positioned in relationthereto to provide selective core areas, drive means to rotate said reel and cable means adapted to elevate said drive means to disengage the fixed plate and shaft from the slideable plate of said reel.

4. In a post holp digger, a U-frame, a slideable power head supported in said frame, a reel comprising a central shaft having a pair ,of plates at both ends thereof, the lowermost of said plates being slideably mounted on said shaft and selectively attached thereto by locking means, a plurality of rods positioned in said opposed plates and adapted to provide adjustable core means, and means for attaching said central shaft of said reel to said slideable power head, whereby said power head may be used to selectively lift said reel to separate said upper plate from a d lower pl to perm t .fl sms a o Wire o the like. said power head being further adapted to rotate said reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent NIT ST TES A EN 221,395 Cass Nov. 11, 1879 2,029,953 Sutilef Feb. 4, 1936 2,480,537 A-rps ,et-a-l Aug. 30, 1949 2,563,377 Schmidt Aug. 7, 1951 2,566,512 Bilderbeck Sept. 4-, 1951 2,616,637 Schroeml :Nov. 4, 1952 2,639,892 Iones May 26, 1953 fiQBElQN PATIENT 177,539 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1935 

